Penn State receives hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer money from the state budget.

Earlier this year, when the state cut funding by $68 million, Penn State raised tuition 4.9 percent, about $700 more per student.

Could this scandal affect tuition? John Gismondi, a local personal injury attorney, hopes not.

“I would be very surprised if under any circumstances the school would try to recoup anything they would pay on the backs of students,” he said. “I mean, I think that would be a horrible precedent from a public relations standpoint.”

Gismondi thinks if Penn State trustees are listening to public reaction, the best thing they can do is to settle the cases out of court quickly.

“I think emotion and public reaction is a major factor in this because it’s a barometer of how a jury would look at these cases were they to come and be presented in court,” he said.